“I Don’t Love Nobody” is an old-time breakdown that traces to a ragtime song copyrighted by the minstrel entertainer Lew Sully in 1896. Georgia fiddlers such as Gid Tanner recorded it in the 1920s, and it spread widely.
A bright tune in C, “I Don’t Love Nobody” has been played in old-time, bluegrass, contest, and Western swing styles. For years it was among the most-played tunes at the national fiddle contest in Weiser, Idaho.
The tune endures as a fiddler’s favorite.